Is everyone getting ready for tomorrow?

I think I dislike April Fools Day more than any other designated day of the year. I have fallen victim to April Fool gags more times than I can remember… in fact, it’s how I knew my first marriage was ending when my, then, wife didn’tplay a joke on me. That didn’t stop most of my friends from taking me in.

Yeah, I’ll put something on the blog which will be a completely humorous fiction… and I’ll respond to e-mails as usual. However, I’ll be happy when the day is over.

So where did April Fool’s Day come from. Infoplease.com gave this historic summary:

Ancient cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year’s Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year’s day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

So how did it get over here and into our present day incarnation? Perhaps it came over with the French.

French youngsters celebrate “poisson d’Avril” or “April Fish” by sneaking up behind friends and sticking a picture of a fish on their backs… the target is then pointed out and laughed at by others.

The Premiere Avril postcard on the left is a testament to the April Fish concept.

Anyway, I hope all of you avoid being humiliated tomorrow… and please have a concern for people you may play these pranks on. You’ll want to keep your friends on April 2nd.

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About btchakir

Retired Theatre Producer, Graphic Designer, Usability Tester and General Troubleshooter with a keen interest in Politics and The Stage. Currently heard on WSHC, 89.7 FM (on line at www.897wshc.org) and occasionally dabbling in Community Theatre.

Thanks for giving me heads up that it’s tomorrow! What version of WordPress are you using. I’m trying to figure out if it’s better to get a bigger version.. I can’t post pictures without them disappearing at times.

Bill Tchakirides

Would you believe that this old man in West Virginia was once a Broadway Producer, or a Commercial Food Photographer, or a Justice of the Peace, or a Font Designer, or even a Director of a major non-profit Arts Program on Cape Cod? Well, he was. Now he spends most of his time posting in the blogosphere and looking for things to do (retirement is a bitch).
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I am a Liberal

"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act.
What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things...every one! So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor."
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